A reader named John says he “saw this bench at the car wash in San Diego, CA a few weeks ago and thought of street use. Apparently they dont want their bench stolen.”

It is actually a pretty cool design. It makes the bench heavy and awkward to move. Yet it doesn’t detract from either its use or its looks (too much). And it is probably cheap to make. Also it can easily be applied to a variety of bench types. Why don’t we see this solution more often?

If you have a fixed spot where you want to have your bench, you can make it even safer by digging a nice deep hole before you pour the concrete. Of course, it won’t help much against vandalism either way…

Rich Gibson

In addition to the anti-theft aspect, it makes the bench feel more substantial.

I am uncomfortable sitting on outside furniture that moves around. It makes me feel like it will fall apart-plus the noise of metal legs scratching on concrete every time I squirm is annoying.